Dominican National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

BOSTON - A Dominican national pleaded guilty today and was sentenced in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

Antonio Felipe-Vasquez, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin immediately sentenced Felipe-Vasquez to time served and three years of supervised release. Felipe-Vasquez will be subject to deportation proceedings.

In 2001, Felipe-Vasquez was encountered by immigration officials while serving a sentence at the Norfolk county House of Corrections. Upon completion of that sentence, Felipe-Vasquez was placed into removal proceedings, and on Nov. 20, 2001, he was deported to the Dominican Republic.

In September 2017, Felipe-Vasquez was arrested in Lynn and charged with heroin trafficking. Upon his arrest, his fingerprints were taken, which revealed his prior deportation. Felipe-Vasquez is scheduled for trial in the state matter in April 2018.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.